Welcome to the Shroomery Message Board! You are experiencing a small sample of what the site has to offer. Please login or register to post messages and view our exclusive members-only content. You'll gain access to additional forums, file attachments, board customizations, encrypted private messages, and much more!

In a move that could add patients to the state's medical marijuana program, a Portland, Ore.-based marijuana advocacy group is planning to open a clinic in Honolulu designed to help people become certified for the program.

The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation says it is close to obtaining a lease on office space near the Queen's Medical Center and is aiming to open Aug. 1.

Paul Stanford, executive director and founder of the Oregon nonprofit, said the clinic &#8212; to be manned by a licensed physician and nurse practitioners &#8212; will help those who could use marijuana to cope with conditions such as cancer and AIDS but who are having trouble finding a doctor willing to sign off on the controversial program.

Others see the effort as nothing more than a money-making scheme that won't help sufferers get the medicine.

Tom Mountain, founder of the Honolulu Medical Marijuana Patients Co-op, said that while it's true that not enough doctors are giving out the blue cards needed to enroll in the program, a more pressing problem is the supply of medical marijuana.

Mountain said growing marijuana plants can be dangerous, expensive and nearly impossible for many O'ahu residents, and an influx of new patients, without the supply, will inevitably lead to more illegal street sales.

Under Hawai'i's five-year-old medical marijuana law, patients are allowed to have three mature marijuana plants, four immature plants and an ounce of usable marijuana for each mature plant. There is no provision for those unable to grow marijuana, but Mountain's co-op has helped some by getting patients to donate extra portions to others.

Advocates say marijuana can be the only way for many chronically ill people, such as AIDS and cancer patients, to relieve their symptoms.

Stanford said the decision to open the Honolulu clinic was spurred by a realization that Hawai'i's medical marijuana program is underused. While there are 2,600 certified patients statewide &#8212; half of them on the Big Island &#8212; only 300 or so live on O'ahu.

He said the foundation's goal is to help 2,000 patients in the first year and between 4,000 and 5,000 in the second year.

The foundation, whose doctors treat 8,300 patients between the Portland and Seattle clinics, has 40 Hawai'i residents on a waiting list after advertising in a weekly publication in Honolulu for four or five weeks, he said.

The standard fee will be $250, he said, but there's also a sliding scale, with a $150 fee for those who can't afford the full amount.

"Our philosophy is that if you can't afford it, we will try to make arrangements. We currently see between five and 10 patients a week for free," he said.

Dr. Tom Orvald, a physician and former Hawai'i resident who works in the foundation's Seattle office, will fly to Honolulu one week a month. To be seen at the clinic, patients must have current medical records that show a diagnosis of one of the qualifying conditions.

Stanford said the staff will educate patients about the specifics of the state's medical marijuana law and about alternatives to smoking marijuana, including vaporization and eating foods cooked with marijuana.

Stanford said he was hoping to open the Honolulu clinic this week but the project was put on hold after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 6 that the federal government may prosecute people who smoke marijuana with a doctor's prescription.

After the ruling, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo and other officials declared Hawai'i's medical marijuana program dead. Kubo later backed down from a comment that he would prosecute doctors for certifying marijuana for their patients.

A telephone message seeking comment was left for Kubo, but he could not be reached yesterday.

Stanford said he was confident the program would continue unchanged in Hawai'i, just like it is in 10 other states, including Oregon and Washington.

Keith Kamita, administrator of the state's medical marijuana program, said his office would be watching over the new operation carefully, especially if it generates the numbers of patients it hopes to.

"You just can't make debilitating conditions up. I would be highly suspicious," he said.

But Pam Lichty, president of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai'i, said she met with Stanford and concluded his clinic could help the scores of patients who can't get the required certification from their doctors.

Mountain and others said the biggest problem remains the supply.

"We don't have any medicine. Where are we going to get it?" he said.

Mountain contends there's not enough space in urban O'ahu for most patients to grow marijuana plants. Even if there is room on one's property, it can be dangerous because of the possibility of theft. Growing it indoors requires expensive lighting and usually results in outrageous electric bills, he said.

Mountain has been lobbying for collective gardens where the marijuana can be grown safely to medical standards, while supervised by the state Department of Health. But until that becomes reality, he said, more blue cards aren't going to help.

Agreed, said Pat Paiva of Makaha, who uses marijuana to help control her epilepsy. Paiva said she tried growing marijuana plants at her former Prospect Street home in Honolulu. Bugs ate the first crop. Thieves ripped off the second.

"I gave up," she said.

Paiva, a hairdresser who manages a salon, insists her life would be so much more difficult to live without the stability marijuana gives her. But it can be difficult to obtain, she said, and more blue cards aren't going to help. She said it sounds like the foundation is just going to be taking advantage of people.

"If you can't run it like a pharmacy, stay home. We don't need you," she said.

Oahu's first medical marijuana clinic is getting ready to open on Wednesday. Hawaii law allows patients with a debilitating illness to use marijuana. The new facility is aimed at getting more people to sign up for the state's program.

The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation is based in Oregon, and runs marijuana clinics in Portland and Seattle. Now the non-profit group is opening one on Queen Street in Honolulu.

Nalani Kalilikane has suffered from multiple sclerosis for the last 11 years.

"Muscle spasms and I give myself a shot once a day," said Kalilikane. "I go for chemotherapy every three months."

The 28-year-old said the only thing that offers relief is smoking marijuana, but her doctor would not certify her for the state's program. So she is turning to the new clinic for help.

"He wasn't authorized to prescribe medical marijuana," Kalilikane explained. "So he told me, if this will help, then go for it."

Paul Stanford is the executive director of the Hemp and Cannabis Foundation.

"We realized that the program, compared to other states, is underused," he said. "So what we do is we help patients whose doctors won't sign the medical marijuana recommendation."

There are nearly 2,800 certified patients statewide. More than half live on the Big Island. Each person is allowed to have three mature marijuana plants, four immature plants and three ounces of marijuana. But the law does not go into how to get the drug.

"The physicians are scared to death to even be associated with cannabis," said Dr. Thomas Orvald, the physician at the clinic. "They're all worried about having their licenses taken away."

State officials disagreed.

"I think some of them were worried," said Keith Kamita, chief of the state narcotics enforcement division. "They called us, but our numbers haven't slowed down. We've consistently been getting patients coming in."

Orvald will fly to Oahu one week a month to work at the clinic. But for now, state officials remain skeptical.

"You also have to look at, is there going to be adequate care?" questioned Kamita. "What if there's a drug interaction or problem? Who's going to take care of this?"

Those living in pain, however, insist the push for patient pot is not full of hot air.

"I'm very excited," said Kalilikane. "Trying to get this out of my way so I can go about doing it legally."

Prospective patients must have medical records that show they have been diagnosed with a debilitating illness. To make an appointment, call 1-800-723-0188.

A new clinic opened its doors in Honolulu today, but at this facility, patients can only get one thing: a permit for medical marijuana. It was a busy first day as doctors at the clinic saw several dozen people, all hoping to get relief from their chronic pain with pot.

"The marijuana, if I do it before I go to bed, I'll sleep like a baby and then I'll feel fresh," said Frank Abrue, who has a degenerative disc disease. "I won't wake up in the middle of the night with pain."

Patients like Abrue say they've waited a long time for this clinic to open.

At the clinic, Abrue goes through a series of interviews - first with an advisor, then a nurse and finally a doctor. Several hours later, Abrue is approved. He will get a permit and will finally be able to use marijuana legally. Abrue can't wait.

"[I feel] like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulder, like I don't have to look over my shoulder more and worry about prosecution," he said.

Medical marijuana was legalized in 2000, but until now it was difficult to get a permit. Workers at the clinic say only one out of every 25 doctors in the state would recommend a permit.

The permit allows each person to grow up to seven marijuana plants, but there's a catch. By law, doctors can't tell the patients where to get the weed.

"I cannot write prescriptions, I can't give them cannabis," said clinic physician Thomas Orvald. "I wouldn't ever know where to get the cannabis myself, but there are sources."

Some patients go online and buy marijuana seeds on the Web.

Kai Kingsley has already shopped for seeds on the Internet. When KGMB9 asked Kingsley where to get seeds, he replied: "Everything is illegal, including seeds, so basically friends have to give them to you. You can buy them online as well."

Patients must prove they have severe chronic pain to get a permit. The permit is valid for one year only then patients must reapply.